Fornatale - the Father of Album Rock Radio

Most of us, outside of major cities and college campuses, never heard of Album Rock Radio, or AOR (Album-Oriented Rock) as it's known in the industry, until about the mid-to-late 1970's. The format actually dates back to 1964 as an off-shoot of "Free-Form" radio. On Free-Form, DJ's experimented with playing their own music instead of following a strict radio format.^[1] The version that became Album Rock Radio started in New York City on Fordham University's WFUV by Programmer/DJ Peter Fornatale. His show, Campus Caravan, featured album cuts not heard on Top 40 radio, grouped together in a topic or theme. Fornatale's show also included interviews with musicians.^[2] Album Rock Radio was born!

Album Rock Radio catches on...

Soon after, other stations followed, mostly in large cities and on other college campuses. Tom Gamache began a similar show, Tee Time on MIT's station, WTBS in 1966. His motive was a sort of "demolition" of Top 40 radio. He played mostly his own records and also ran spoof commercials, mainly with a marijuana theme. Gamache's show soon gained a wide following among college students in the Boston area, then moved to WBUR from Boston University, whose signal was much stronger. He later began the first "commercial" progressive rock format in Boston on station WBCN.^[2]

Progressive Rock - First Commercial Album Rock Station

Meanwhile, back in New York, DJ and Program Director Murray the K of WOR, urged his DJ's to play album cuts not offered on Top 40 radio. Murray went so far as to recommend music with social commentary. He termed his format "progressive rock". Murray originated from WOR's AM counterpart, a typical Top 40 station of its day. He wanted to experiment with the FM side in a different way, much like other stations in that region of the country.^[1]

Album Rock Reaches The West Coast

Another major player in the emergence of Album Rock Radio was former Philadelphia DJ and Program Director Tom Donahue. Growing weary of Top 40 radio, with its corny jingles and fast pace, Donahue introduced the Album Rock format to station KMPX, a commercial station rather than a college station, in San Francisco in 1967. Like others, Donahue focused on the music, and not the gimmickry. This move coincided with the San Francisco sound reaching its heyday. His success in San Francisco led to him transporting the format to sister station KPPC in the L.A. market. From there, Donahue also helped bring the format to other stations in both cities - KSAN in San Francisco, and KMET in Los Angeles.^[2] Also in the mix in California was Johnny Hyde's show The Gear on Sacramento's KXOA, another show including album cuts and live interviews with musicians.^[1] Largely thanks to Tom Donahue, Album Rock Radio spread its influence from the East coast to the West coast by the late 1960's.

Two events led to the emergence of Album Rock Radio. One was an FCC ruling in 1965, the other was the hippie "counter·culture" movement.

1965 FCC Non·Duplication Ruling

The Federal Communication Commission issued its non-duplication ruling in 1965. At this time, FM radio was relatively new. Most FM stations were jointly owned with established AM stations. The station owners would simply simulcast their AM programming to their FM station.^[1] All this changed in 1965, when the FCC ruled that radio stations in cities with more than 100,000 people must broadcast at least 50% original programming on their FM stations.^[2] This led to more experimentation on FM radio, mostly including Album Rock.

The Hippie Movement

The second was the growing "counter-culture" movement. Largely driven by college students, Album Rock radio provided an outlet for artists such as Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and Judy Collins, who spoke for this generation more than anyone else.

The Role of the 1971 Des Moines ruling

Athough a version of the Album Rock radio format originated in the 1960's, the term "Album Oriented Rock (AOR) didn't surface until after 1971. This came about due to an FCC rule, known later as the "Des Moines" ruling. Under pressure from President Richard Nixon's administration, the FCC began to threaten to revoke the license of radio stations playing songs considered to be too radical in nature. Specifically, the FCC targeted "free-form" station KFMG in Des Moines for playing songs with drug-related lyrics. After this, many stations voluntarily complied with the new guidelines to avoid harrassment from the FCC.^[1]

In response, programming consultant Lee Abrams created the Album Oriented Rock format for radio stations. AOR provided a more mainstream version of the old free-form Album Rock format.^[1]

For a more detailed history of AOR and the music that made it possible, browse the section below!